Things are Different Now
by imma dino hear me roar
Summary: After getting lost in the desert and finding a city to stay in, two friends realise that they're nowhere near home anymore. They try to find more information about what happened to them, but something goes wrong. Their paths stray. One is presumed dead. The other, well she's in a lot of trouble. Deidara/OC and Zetsu/OC/Gaara
1. Sunagakure

Hello Internet, I'm Nat, I'm your author for this story. I don't own any Naruto characters, Masashi Kishimoto-sama does. Enjoy the chapter and story!

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><p>"Damn it, Cooper, you sure this is cool?"<p>

"Damn it, Jade , stop calling me by my last name."

"Whatever, Emily. I'm just not sure that we should be doing this." The nervous sixteen-going on seventeen-year old mumbled, looking around in the dark alley behind the mall.

"Oh don't be such a goody-goody. Live a little, Jade _Reigns_." The eccentric seventeen-going on eighteen-year old smirked at her best friend as she mocked her by using her last name. She wanted the two friends to be partners-in-crime but Jade was never amused by such ideas.

Jade was a petite girl. Pale with shaggy brown hair that was tied back with a green ribbon, reaching her back. Her chocolate brown eyes were liars, making you think that she was an innocent girl when really she had a very dark mind. It was just that she never acted upon those dark thoughts of hers. Her outfit today was a purple blouse and black skirt with green tights. She wore black combat boots and a marble style choker to complete everything. On her wrist was a symbol of grass, for Kusagakure.

Emily seemed like an average girl. Short, auburn hair fell into her face and brushed just past her shoulders. Her green eyes were full of mischief, telling you that she was a girl who was up for anything. Her outfit was a grey Nirvana shirt with dark blue jeans and matching converse sneakers. She had on a necklace with the Iwagakure symbol on it.

They were both big fans of the series Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, but right now, anime wasn't on their minds.

"I just don't want to end up as those girls you see on the six o' clock news."

"It's just a concert, Jade. What could possibly happen? We're only going to be gone for a day, no one will notice." Emily tried to persuade her best friend, who gave out a heavy sigh in return.

"If you say so. You got my back if something happens, right?" Paranoid Jade questioned, to which Emily gave an eager nod. "Let's ride." Jade finally gave in, jumping into the black convertible that was parked behind the mall. Emily smirked then got into the driver's seat, seeing as how she was the one who could actually drive, and started the engine.

"Trust me, Jade. You're never going to forget this day." Emily giggled softly as she drove out of the area, and to their desired destination.

The concert they were heading to was way far out, so it was going to take a long car ride. Instead of listening to the radio like a normal car ride, Jade was watching an episode of Naruto Shippuden on her phone while Emily listened to the audio. They were watching the Kazekage Retrieval Arc. Just when Deidara infiltrates Sunagakure and is confronted by Gaara

Although best friends, the two were pretty different. In this instance, their preference of characters were opposite of the other. Emily was absolutely infatuated with the blonde terrorist, Deidara, but always hated the antagonists like the Akatsuki or the Sound Ninja. Jade, on the other hand, was practically in love with Sabaku no Gaara, but never really cared for the protagonists except for maybe Naruto himself and the sweet little Hinata. She favoured the Akatsuki, and mostly the bad guys excluding the Uchiha Clan.

The two friends did put their preferences aside so they could comment on which ninjas were most skilled, which jutsus were most powerful, which battles were the most memorable.

Jade had been following the manga so she was ahead of Emily, although Emily wasn't far behind. They both had already seen this Arc., it was just one of their favourites so they wanted to pass the time with it. Emily was tempted to look at the screen but her focus had to be at the road. Giving into her temptations, Emily lowered her head just enough to see the screen of the phone and the road at the same time.

She could still see the road, she just didn't know where she was going.

Emily took the exit she thought she needed to take in order for her to go to the concert, which was two entire states away. Just before they met up behind the mall, she filled the convertible with a full tank of gas, at her own expense, so they wouldn't have to stop for gas anytime soon.

On the last episode of the Kazekage Retrieval Arc., Jade's eyes wandered to the windshield and her eyes widened. Her brown eyes took in the breathtaking sight of the grainy, sandy, deserted wasteland that they were driving in. They were still on the road, but there were no other cars in sight. Jade had to admire the beauty of the blending sand's terrain and the sky which was not a shade of blue like how it would normally be, creating an everlasting image in her mind, before she finally thought of something.

"Emily, where is this concert? Do we have to pass this desert?" Jade questioned, raising an eyebrow as her best friend gave her an incredulous look.

"What desert?" Emily asked, then turned her attention to the road. "…Shit…" Immediately after her curse, the automobile barked and then stopped, then began to hiss. "…Double shit…" She and Jade jumped out of the car to find out what happened. Emily propped up the hood of the car only to be devoured by smoke.

"…So I take it that you made a wrong turn at Albuquerque?" Jade joked, earning a glare from Emily.

"I must've made a wrong exit somewhere and worn out the car. Damn it." Emily facepalmed at herself, and Jade sighed then leaned against the car.

Jade closed her eyes in thought, they were in the middle of a desert and they couldn't leave. Maybe they could call for someone, but they didn't know where they were. She pulled out her cell phone again and was about to call a mechanic, but unfortunately she didn't have any connection, which was odd, considering the fact that they were just able to watch anime online.

"No connection." She muttered. Emily could barely hear her. "I can't even get to the internet so that we can find out how to fix the car."

"Then we'll do it ourselves." Emily said with determination in her voice. She glared at the car. "I am getting to that concert. I paid good money for those tickets."

"You mean you were the highest bidder on a crappy auction site?"

"Whatever." Emily said bitterly as Jade rolled her eyes.

As her eyes teased her friend, Jade spotted something that resembled walls that seemed to be made out of sand and dirt. She narrowed her eyes and peeked through the cracks and saw that it was something like a city or a village. _How did I not notice that before? _She questioned herself. She took a couple of steps forward towards the protected city and estimated how long it would take to get there by foot. Probably about fifteen minutes.

"Em. Emily." Jade called for the attention of her friend who was trying to fix the car. "There's a city over there. Maybe they have someone who can fix this thing. Come on, it doesn't look too far away. Take your stuff, just incase of bandits." Jade instructed Emily. She always was the mature one.

Emily followed her directions and took out all of the important stuff from the car, grabbing her purse and handing Jade her own. Hesitantly, Emily said goodbye to her convertible as she and Jade walked towards the protected city for help. They walked alongside each other and didn't look back. Well, Emily didn't.

"Oh crap." Jade said as she turned back. Emily raised an eyebrow and did so as well, her jaw dropped.

They hadn't even walked for five minutes and the convertible was already gone.

"Where the hell did my car go?! It just vanished!" Emily yelled, then looked around to see if someone was driving off with her car. She was stumped to find out that her car was nowhere in sight. There weren't even any tire tracks. "Dude, what the hell?" She kicked the sand then turned around and dragged herself towards the desert. Jade snickered to herself as she followed.

"Good thing we brought cash, huh? I always figured that we'd end up somewhere without a ride home so I always carry enough money for both of us to stay in a hotel for a few nights." Jade said, and Emily looked at her with a small smile. Jade always thought ahead instead of Emily acting on impulse.

Emily always focused on what happened now. Jade always focused on the future.

"One night at hotel might not be as good as a concert but if it's with you, I can deal with it." Emily said warmly, and Jade nodded with a smile.

As they finally approached the walls of the protected city, they were greeted by two guards who were wearing strange clothes. The guards stood in their way from entering the city. The two friends almost thought it was funny that they thought the girls would be a threat. They stared at each other for a while. To the girls, the guards had some very strange clothing. The headband they wore with something like an hourglass seemed so familiar. But the guards also thought that the clothing of girls was very odd. Certainly not for this weather.

"Halt." The first guard said. "Where do you come from?"

"San Francisco." Answered Jade, she said it so professionally that the guards _almost _believed her.

"Which country is that in?" The second guard asked, raising an eyebrow at Jade.

"…The States? The one that we're in?" Jade said questioningly.

"We're in the Land of the Wind. Are you from one of the allied countries?" The second guard asked, looking at his partner wondering if they should believe the girls.

"Are we in freakin' Mexico? Did I drive all the way to Mexico? I'm pretty sure the States and Mexico are allies." Emily said, she was impatient and wanted to get into the protected city, now."

"Listen," Jade interjected. "We just really want to get inside the city. We were on our way to a concert but got lost and we can't get back home. We just want to stay in a hotel for a few nights and contact our parents to come pick us up. We have identification, if you need it." She reached into her purse and found her student I.D. card to show to them. Emily did the same.

"Jahdeh?" The first guard mispronounced her name.

"Emeelee?' The second guard mispronounced Emily's name.

"Uh, no." Emily said bluntly, annoyed that they butchered such simple names. "I'm Emily Cooper. This is my friend, Jade Reigns." Emily introduced herself and her friend.

"You both have strange names. But your information is all here. We've never heard of the States so just stay out of trouble." The first guard said. The second guard nodded them gave them a small smile.

"Enjoy your stay in Sunagakure."

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><p>I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Be sure to review down below and give that little heart button a click! Bye, guys!<p> 


	2. Visiting the Koizumi Inn

'Sup, nerds. I actually didn't expect this story to get any feedback but apparently you guys enjoy my work so thanks for that! I am just god awful at updating, so bear with me. Your procrastinating dino author has given you another chapter, although no major characters have been included yet. I'm sorry about that. Anyway, I don't own any characters, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto-san. Thanks again for the reviews, follows, and favourites, enjoy the chapter!

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><p>"S-Sunagakure?" Jade breathed out, barely audible to her own ears. She was frozen in place as Emily stepped forward into the city. The guards looked at her questioningly, wondering why she didn't go in like her friend. Her shock filled eyes looked at them, then at their headbands.<p>

It was starting to make sense. The desert. The guards. The sand wall. The headbands with the Sunagakure symbol engraved in it. Jade looked inside the city and saw the familiar architecture. They really were in Sunagakure. But how? The village was not a real place, so how could they be in Sunagakure? Did they end up in that other world, the world where ninjas were real?

"…S-Sunagakure…" Jade repeated, along with something else. "…G-Gaara…" The guards looked at her with wide eyes as Jade was hit with the sudden realization that they were no longer home, and that there was someone here for her.

"Who are you asking for, girl?" The first guard asked, raising an eyebrow at Jade. Emily looked back at her friend and saw that she was frightened. "Now, it sounded like you were asking for-"

"G-Gaara." Jade repeated, and the guards glared at her.

"And what would you know about that little runt? It's no wonder if he's become famous throughout the lands, he's a monster after all." The second guard said, a scowl tugging at his face. Emily gasped softly then looked at Jade.

"K-Kazekage-sama." Jade stuttered, still not moving from her trance. The guards had a remorseful look on their faces.

"Unfortunately, Yondaime Kazekage is deceased. His successor is still unknown. Right now, the village is in the hands of the Councilmen."

"Can you please tell me why you just told two outsiders about the state of Sunagakure?" The first guard sneered at his partner, who nervously shrugged his shoulders in response. "Anyway, girl, you're a little bit suspicious right now. Check into the Koizumi Inn, and we'll check up on you when our shifts are over so that we know you're not up to anything." The first guard mainly spoke to Jade instead of Emily.

"Isn't the Koizumi Inn a little bit too close to the Kage Mansion? Granted, these girls are a bit sketchy but putting them near that _monster_ might just scare them to death. Literally." The second guard warned, his voice hinted that he actually cared about the girls.

"That's the only place that accepts minors." The first guard retorted, then looked at the two girls. "I'll give you this as a warning, do _not_ go near the boy with red hair. I repeat, do _not_ go near him. I cannot stress how important it is that you stay away from him. And if you see sand approaching you, _run._" His voice was dead serious, enough to send shivers down Emily's spine. Jade however, changed her fearful expression into a stoic one.

"Hai." Jade said in monotone, then began walking alongside Emily. The guards turned their backs to them while Emily looked at Jade. "I want to go home." Jade breathed out.

Once they were out of range from the protected city's guards, Emily stopped Jade and put her hands on the petite girl's shoulders. "Jade, what's wrong? Why did you freeze up on them?"

"Didn't you hear them?" Jade said softly, at which Emily raised an eyebrow. "They said we where in S-Suna. They're the Sand Village's guards." Although she wasn't showing it, Jade was distressed about the situation.

"I didn't hear that part..." Emily admitted, then looked around at their surroundings. "There's…There's no way that we made a wrong turn and ended up in Sunagakure. That's impossible. This universe isn't real, right?"

"I want to go back home." Jade repeated. "We're not supposed to be here. We don't belong here. I want to go home." Her voice was serious, and Emily knew that she was right but she didn't want to admit it.

"Maybe we can talk to someone. We have to figure out what time period we're in." Emily was calm and collected.

"The guards said that the fourth Kazekage was deceased, so it's after the Chuunin Exams when he was assassinated. And they still haven't picked anyone to take his place." Jade summed up, but forgot one piece of information.

"They were also pretty bitter about Gaara." Emily mentioned, which made Jade stiffen. "So granted the hatred and the fact that he's still not Kazekage, we're probably in the time period we're he becomes a chuunin. So he's fourteen right now."

"Oh he's too young for me…" Jade muttered underneath her breath, but Emily still heard her and raised an eyebrow.

"Dude."

"Sorry." Jade apologized for her selfish desires. She held her hands close to her chest as she nervously walked through the streets with Emily, earning stares from the villagers. "I feel like their judging us. We don't belong here, Emily." Jade looked to her older companion who sighed in return.

"They're probably just wondering about our clothes. No offense, but without those tights you could totally pass off the look of a goth slut." Emily chuckled as Jade blushed madly then pulled down on her skirt, making sure that it wasn't too short and showed anything.

"Can we just check into that hotel? I want to get this sorted out." Jade was soft as she spoke, and Emily easily complied with her request.

With some help from the passing villagers, they managed to reach the heart of the city where they were greeted by a grand mansion, obviously belonging to someone of power. They looked around, trying to find the inn that the guards wanted them to check into, and found it right next to the mansion. The inn looked so beautiful and colourful, unlike the rest of the bland city, but seemed so empty, like no one was checking in. The girls headed inside but Jade, relying on her instincts as usual, felt like someone was _watching. Staring._

"Okay quit acting like we're in a soap opera. Stop staring around thoughtfully and let's check in." Emily said bluntly, then took Jade's arm and pulled her inside the inn.

They were hit by a refreshing sensation, better than the atmosphere outside. It felt so cool inside, considering the fact they were in the middle of a desert. They would assume it was air conditioning if it wasn't for the fact that there weren't any air vents in sight. Still, they appreciated the cool sensation.

"Welcome!" They were startled by a modulated voice belonging to an older man from behind the desk beside them. "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to the Koizumi Inn!" The older man repeated. He was a fairly short man, and seemed to have a permanent smile plastered on his aged face. "The only inn with a springs inside to keep the whole place cool and refreshing, and you never have to wait for an available room!" He proclaimed it with pride.

_Why would anyone stay away from this place? It's so pleasant. _Both, Jade and Emily thought the same thing. The two friends looked around to make sure that the place itself was not the problem with the poor statement the guards gave of the inn, but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. After a short moment of silence when Jade and Emily were inspecting the building, Emily finally spoke to the older man.

"Uh, hi. We'd just like a room for a night for two people." She said it confidently, when really she was a tad bit anxious.

"Just for one night?" The clerk questioned. "You can stay for as long as you want! If you book for three nights now, it's just half the price you would pay if you continued to pay per night!" When he said that, both girls stiffened.

More than one night? How could they possibly stay away from home that long? The realization hit Jade that they might have to take that deal. Who knows how long they would have to stay. No offense to the owners of the inn, but she didn't really want to be in this place. Emily, however, wasn't thinking about that.

"That is such a good deal." Emily said in awe, then quickly reached for her wallet in her purse. She was smiling when she started to pull out an estimated amount of money but paused, and looked sheepishly at the clerk. "Do you take American currency?" Emily was so unsure of his response, but the smile she was given by the man surprised her.

"We take any currency! As long as you can prove that it's the real deal, of course! We try to make things easy for our customers." The old man wide grinned confirmed his statement. "I'll ring you up, now. Included with your three-night stay, you receive free catering and access to the spa!" Emily was actually interested in the bonuses that came with their stay, while Jade had too much on her mind.

Once the clerk was finished with the transaction, he opened a drawer and handed a bronze key to Emily. "Enjoy your stay at the Koizumi Inn!" The man's voice was kind as he flashed them a bright smile again. Emily and Jade couldn't help but let their lips curve into a grin in return. Emily motioned for Jade to follow her up the stairs and to their rooms, but Jade stayed to talk to the clerk.

"Some men, guards, I think, said that they were going to check up on us later today. Can you just tell them where our room is, mister?" Jade requested, and the old man nodded in return. "Thank you." She lightly bowed in respect to the old man, whose bright grin remained.

Jade made her way back to her friend and up the stairs to their room. One door had a green mark on it while they others had red and yellow marks. They assumed that the green one was their room, and the others were taken or vacant. Emily opened the door and went inside with Jade behind her. They were pleasantly surprised to find an elegant room with two beds, a table, and a bathroom. What really caught their attention was the balcony peeking out of the building, showing a great view of the streets and the grand mansion next door.

Emily smiled at the lovely room as she made her way to the bed and sat down, taking out a book from her purse to kill time. Jade sighed in defeat, then made her way to the other bed and lied down, reaching into her purse to take out her music player. Her eyes widened when she couldn't find it, she checked her purse, any pockets on her person, the inside of her shoes, and it wasn't there. Emily turned a page to continue reading, not noticing Jade's distress.

Jade realized that she couldn't find it, so the tried to shake it off and take out her phone to listen to the music downloaded onto there, but couldn't find it either. She did the same routine, she checked her purse, any pockets on her person, the inside of her shoes, and it wasn't there. Jade was confused, she knew that she had her electronics there with here just earlier, so where were they now?

"Hey, Emily." Jade called her friend's attention. "I can't find my phone and iPod, do you have yours?" Jade asked, earning a shrug in return. Emily reached for her pursed and tried to find her own electronics, but to no avail.

"We just had them. I don't know where they went." Emily answered, clearly not as worried as Jade was. "Whadduya think happened to them?" Emily wondered aloud. Jade glanced at her purse, wondering were her missing belongings went. She never liked losing any of her possessions, she was more responsible than that.

Jade was broken out of her thoughts, and Emily's reading was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Then another set of knocking. They had two different patterns, meaning two different people. The guards, the girls assumed. Emily set her book down, book marking the page, and stood up to answer the door. She didn't realize how long they were already there before glancing outside, noticing that the dull blue sky transitioned to a blending of navy and scarlet colours. Emily opened the door, only to have the guards push past her to let themselves inside the room.

"Rude." Emily grumbled underneath her breath. The first guard from earlier heard her, and grimaced.

"Our job is to protect the city, not to be nice." He retorted, making Emily fight the urge to roll her eyes. The first guard sighed then glanced at Jade, who immediately stood up and timidly bowed to greet them. "Now that one knows her place." He pointed to Jade while speaking to Emily. The second guard from earlier coughed to gain his partner's attention, who turned his head to look back at him.

"As we said, we came right when our shifts were over. Your behaviour put you under suspicion, and here in Sunagakure, we take no risks."

"Quit the guard act, we're done for today." The first guard sat down on Emily's bed, then proceeded to take of his required uniform. His flak jacket, sandals, headband, whatever to make him feel more comfortable. "Damn, I'm exhausted."

"All we did was stand in front of the wall." The second guard retorted, irking his partner. He proceeded to take off his own uniform, as well. Emily and Jade exchanged glances before looking back at the guards. The second guard glanced at them then did a double take at them. He approached the girls and took Jade's wrist and Emily's necklace into his hands. "Kusagakure and Iwagakure." He caught his partner's attention.

"Now this is interesting." The first guard crossed his arms across his chest, closing his eyes in thought. "Only Iwagakure is allied with Sunagakure."

"And Iwagakure and Kusagakure have been enemies for a while now." The second guard spoke up, making Emily and Jade tense up. "So that leaves one question." He looked back to his partner, who opened his eyes only to look down at the girls.

"Which one's _our_ enemy?"

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><p>Thanks for reading guys! Big thanks to sparkle8419192 for sorta guilting me back into writing this story, although it still took me a while. All right, be sure to leave a review about what you thought of the chapter down below and don't forget to give that heart button a click if you haven't done so already! Bye, guys!<p> 


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